SGTiger deserves some applause

[boy in a kilt]

I took SGTiger out on her first tour this weekend.

When we originally came up with the idea, I figured a leisurely ride, camp out and ride back. I've ridden most of the Oregon Coast bike route and she likes the Coast, so I figured it would be a perfect ride.

But, I made a mistake. I'd never ridden the section we did this weekend. Oops. We rode the hilly part. Leisurely didn't enter into the equation. The longest climb is about 2 or 3 miles long and a 7% grade.

I was proud to watch her do it. It was the first time she'd ever ridden anything like that and she did it with, I think, grace and style. I think the biggest battle she fought with herself was dealing with all of the climbing. But she never, ever gave up.

I was also happy seeing her descend. Nothing in her descending style said any of her old fears about going too fast on a bike held sway. She tucked in behind her bars and let it fly.

[Tri Girl]

Wow! Pat her on the back from all of us. Did you camp out? Sounds like it was a fun adventure! If you took pics, you know we'd love to see them.

[boy in a kilt]

We camped. Nehalem Bay State Park.

One of the great secrets of the Oregon State Parks system is the Hiker Biker site. As expected, the signs going into the park said "campground full" however, the hiker biker sites were empty when we got there. Eight bucks a night for both of us.

After we'd set up camp, we rode into Nehalem and got got some food. Then we built a fire, ate, hung out and talked.

I wanted to get some pics of her climbing the second day, but the camera died.

[Tri Girl]

Sounds really great! How nice that you were able to enjoy a great ride, AND camp out (my kind of weekend adventure). We hope to make it to the PNW someday and when we do, there is a list a mile long of all the things I hope to see and do.

[Aggie_Ama]

Way to go SG!!

Sounds like my kind of weekend.

[sgtiger]

Thank-you Tri Girl and Aggie_Ama. And a special thanks to the kilted one.

I am wiped out today. It was definitely a challenging week-end, as I had not ridden anything so hilly before. But, boy, was it fun.

We rode out of Seaside, where we had stayed at a friend's house (Thanks, Wes!), and headed south on Hwy101 to Manzinita. The ride started out flat with a couple gradual hills a few miles out of town, which was a great warm-up for what was to come. I was intimidated by the height of the first mountain, so I tried hard to concentrate on conquering the 3-4 feet in front of me. When we were approaching the crest, the view of the ocean was a wonderful reward and motivation to get to the top. The decent was a little scary in the beginning because I wasn't used to the extra weight I was carrying on my bike. It didn't feel quite as stable as I was used to. I remembered something I had read on TE about shifting your weight back on the saddle, almost with some of your tush hanging off the end and bringing your torso down. That did the trick! (So whoever posted that - thanks!)

The second mountain was much, much more challenging and seemed to take forever to climb. I was suffering through some of it, but I just had to make myself go on. The encouragement that I received from DH was incredible. He let me know that this was the big um...well, tit. (I had mentioned that the bigger hills looked like a lopsided pair when he showed me the elevation profile while we were planning the ride.) What also helped, was a teen hanging out of his back seat window and giving me the thumbs-up while whooping. And there was another rider, who I had noticed a couple of times before both coming and going, that let me know the crest was only 500 ft. ahead as he passed me. The descent was so much fun and rewarding after such a hard, for me anyways, climb.

After that, there was a small hill and a gentle descent into Manzinita, where we enjoyed a great lunch at a charming diner. Then DH set up camp while I got myself cleaned-up and we headed into town on our bikes. I hadn't been to Manzinita before. It's a very charming coastal town with gorgeous beaches. We spent a wonderful evening eating, drinking stout, talking, eating, warming our bums near the fire, and eating.

I woke up early the next morning and made myself some coffee. I took a little walk around the camp grounds and ended up at the beach. I couldn't leave the coast without dipping my feet in the water. So I walked down the beach a bit 'til my feet became numb. I envied the people with wetsuits because I would have loved to be able to jump into the Pacific. One of these days, I'm going to try surfing. When I got back to camp, DH was up and had started a fire. What a wonderful man! We had a pre-breakfast as we broke camp and had a chance to talk with one of the other cyclists who were riding from Portland to ,I think, San Diego. Breakfast was in Manizinita at a fish market. We shared a crab omelet with hash browns and toast. Yum!

We rode the same route back as we had come which I'm very happy we did because it gave me a better appreciation of the mountain pass that we had ridden the day before. Starting out was not fun. We immediately had a short but steep climb out of Manzinita. I had to keep stopping to catch my breath. I was having some serious doubts that I could make the second day. It made me feel a little better when I looked behind me to see how steep the road was that I had just climbed. So on I went. Eventually, I found my rhythm and things became easier. We reached the beginning of the big...ahem looming before me.<Gulp!> So, again, I concentrated on the little piece of road immediately before me and climbed slowly(3 mph). Occasionally, I looked up to see the neighboring hill get closer which was highly motivational. I was steadily making progress! The descent was very steep and quick. I was awestruck that I had managed to climb this the day before!

I think it is an easier ride going north. Not that I didn't suffer. But I came to a point where the pain was kinda enjoyable. I found myself grinning through even the pain. But ,then again, maybe I'm a sicker puppy than I knew.

Sorry, I have to cut this short. I have to take DS to TaeKwonDo. Although, it looks as though I've already written a novel.

[maillotpois]

Very cool! Well done!

And it's great to learn about those hiker biker sites. I'll try to file that one away in my addled brain.

[boy in a kilt]

The highest concentration of hiker biker sites is along the coast, starting from Fort Stevens south. They seem to thin out quite a bit south of florence.

I have stayed in one on the east side of the cascades at Tumalo State Park north of Bend. I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance. The hiker biker sites are really nice and quite a short walk to the rain locker and other such facilities.

[sgtiger]

Thanks Maillotpois!

And the saga continues...

To cap off the weekend, I decide to do a cargo bike ride that DH's buddy helped organize. DH stayed home to catch up on errands and finish some online course for the Guard. I had DD in tow in her trailer and we set out from West Seattle to the Disco Pig where we met up with lots of other riders. We must have been a scene with all the bikes and all manor of stuff strapped to rear racks, Xtracycles, and a Bakfiets (which DS rode in with a friend). We got a lot of stares and people pulled out their camera phones to take pictures. Heehee! Afterwards we made a stop at Pike Place Market. Going down 3rd (very steep!) with a trailer was a little scary. After everyone was done picking up supplies, we headed to a warehouse in Ballard. It turned out to be another bike shop! They had set-up grills and were barbaquing chicken when we pulled up. The smell was mouth-watering. Oh boy, was I ready to eat!

Being around so many other biking enthusiasts was a lot of fun. I got to meet many interesting people and try out the Dutch bikes that were on site. They ride like butter and the position on them is completely upright. Riding a Bakfiets is fun but getting used to the steering was kinda tricky. It took me a couple of tries but I finally got it down without mowing down anyone. Whew!

After all the fun, we had to ride back to West Seattle. I was already a little tired to begin with but climbing those hills were killer. Towards the end I felt like I was trying to pull a boulder! There was even a section that I just couldn't peddle up so I pushed the bike with trailer up that steep hill. After a chance to catch my breath. I managed to make it back to ABR with the occasional push from Aaron. He had a stoke monkey attached to the Bakfiets to help him power up the hills. It made a huge difference. Thanks Aaron and Gypsey for a great time!